Day 3: When My Purpose and Gods Purpose Collide

Verse of the Day:He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4

It probably came as no surprise in yesterday’s devotion that God’s purpose was to be reunited with His Children. Yet as much as we rejoice that God’s purpose is to save us, life would be much less frightening if God’s main purpose was to protect His children from suffering.

God hates suffering. He hurts when you hurt and weeps when you weep. God knows every time you hurt so much you can’t sleep, every time you’re so tired you can’t lift your head. He knows every place the surgeon cut, the doctor probed and the nurse poked. God does not want His beloved children to suffer.

But it can be a hard pill for you to swallow when your purpose and God’s purpose do not match up. Not that you ever want God to pull back on His plans for the salvation of the world, but could He just move the suffering you’re dealing with to the top of His to-do-list for a while?

Most days I have a to-do list. This is typically a good thing because the list helps me to stay focused. The problem comes when my list of things to do is so long it’s impossible to accomplish in one day. That’s when it’s time to prioritize. Do the cats get food, or does my husband get clean shirts? I have to choose what absolutely has to be completed today and what can wait. Sometimes prioritizing can be as stressful as trying to complete the list. If I knew exactly what the best thing to do was, I would do it. But more often than not, I randomly go through my day checking off what looks good at the time.

If God had a to-do list, I wonder what would be on it? The Bible gives us some ideas. It says He knows the number of hairs on your head and the exact time a sparrow falls. Keeping track of all that must be an accounting nightmare, and, of course, God’s busy being our Rock and our Fortress, not to mention our Shield. The good news is that with everything He has going on, God does not have a problem figuring out His priorities. The number one most important thing on God’s to-do-list is your salvation.
This is probably not a surprise to you. After all, salvation of the world is the whole reason God sent His Son to die for us. We all know God has many things that are important to Him. God hungers for justice and healing and protection for you and all those you love. The heartache comes when your top priority is different from God’s.

I mean, let’s face it. When you are sitting in a hospital waiting room, you’re glad that God is about salvation, but at that minute you wish His top priority was healing. When the police are in your home or the pink slip comes from your boss, some protection and justice from God would be nice right about then. God wants to grant you all the healing, justice and protection you need if it does not get in the way of His plan for salvation.

Seeing the sickness, violence, and injustice around you, can tempt you to think God is not in control. But He is, friend…He really is. God’s abundant love for His children makes Him hunger for their salvation, but God hungers for justice, safety and wholeness too. He hurts when you hurt, and grieves when you grieve, and when evil touches your life, He is moved to anger. But listen. The day will come when He will make all things right. Revelations 21:4 says when Jesus returns, He will “wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
One day, God’s list of things to do will be completed. You will gaze upon the precious face of Jesus and He will have made all things right. All the injustice, sickness and pain will have been wiped from the earth as God gathers all His beloved children into His loving arms. Fear not, friend. He will indeed make all things new.

Can you think of a time when you were blessed by God in such a way that you felt God smiled specifically at you? If so, when?

Are there times when you wish God would guarantee that your purpose was the top of His to-do list? Can you think of an instance?

One cancer survivor said to me about God’s purpose, “The hardest part is knowing there’s nothing you can do to change God’s will.” What are your thoughts about this?

Lord,

You alone know the depth of my struggles. You can see in to my hurt and my fears more clearly than I and so I come before You and ask You to place in me a faith so strong I can grasp Your will for my life through any hardship. Shine Your light into my darkness and lift my eyes always to You. You are truly my Way, my Truth and my Light.

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